Bears still a defense-driven team

Offense looks stronger, but success depends on other side of the ball

July 31, 2012|Mike Mulligan

Linebacker Lance Briggs said it's fine to be excited about the offense, but the Bears are still about defense. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Tribune photo)

BOURBONNAIS — Fun as it may be to pretend the Bears are undergoing a sudden and violent insurrection on offense — a quarterback-led coup featuring aerial strength, the marshaling of ground forces and (gasp) something called the audible — the simple truth is the Bears require significantly less to be successful this season. Think evolution more than revolution.

"It's Chicago," linebacker Lance Briggs said laughing when asked about a defense fast becoming the forgotten unit. "It's great to be excited about offense in the city of Chicago. But we're still in Chicago.''

Right. Chicago: Hog Butcher for the World. Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat. City of Big Shouldered Linebackers. Stuffer of Run. Blitzer of Quarterback. Hometown of Butkus. If only Carl Sandburg had lasted another 20 years, he could have rewritten his famous poem for the 46 defense.

Maybe the correct way forward in the modern NFL requires a wholesale restricting of the Bears' methodology. Someday the Bears may thrill the nation with Jay Cutler and an attacking formation. But not now. Not this year. Not with Lovie Smith calling the shots.

The Bears are a defense-driven team with a defensive-minded coach who has produced his best seasons when his defense has been rated in the top 10. Smith has been to the playoffs three times in eight years. Only one offensive unit has been rated above 23rd in the 32-team NFL in his tenure. The Bears finished 15th on offense in 2006 and wound up in the Super Bowl.

Fine special teams have been a calling card every year under Smith and Dave Toub, who coordinates that unit. Nonetheless, it's a fact that a great year by the defense always has translated into a great season under Smith.

The Bears were 11-5 in 2005 when they ranked second in the NFL in yards allowed, the statistic used to rank teams overall, and first in points allowed, a statistic Smith prefers. They finished fifth overall in 2006 — third in points allowed — with a 13-3 mark. And they were ninth overall in 2010 when the signing of Julius Peppers keyed an 11-5 season and a home date in the NFC championship game against the eventual Super Bowl champion Packers.

Many key players from those earlier teams remain key players on this year's defense. As everyone knows, the most important and best defenders on the Bears all are over 30, including Brian Urlacher (34), Peppers (32), Charles Tillman (31) and Briggs (31). Age means experience and the Bears prefer to think of their older players as coach-on-the-field types.

"We are at a time in our careers where it is just a matter of executing,'' Tillman said. "We all know the defense, we've all been here long enough. It's just getting all 11 guys to execute consistently.''

The defenders welcome more scoring on offense, especially in a division where the Packers and Lions are capable of putting up impressive numbers. The Packers ranked third in offense last year, while the Lions were fifth. The Bears play those teams twice each, of course, with only the Cowboys (No. 11) and Texans (13) the only teams on the slate among the top half of offenses last year.

There wasn't a team in the NFC North that finished higher than the Bears in pass defense a year ago and the Bears were just 22nd in that category. There are concerns at defensive tackle and safety and an alarming lack of depth behind the 30-somethings. But Tillman said the Bears have the talent, coaching and scheme-knowledge to be a top-10 defense, regardless of their NFC North matchups.

"If you are a top-10 defense then you are a top-10 defense regardless of who you play against or how many times you play them,'' Tillman said.

Outside the division the Bears play five of the eight worst returning offenses, including the bottom three: Colts (30), Rams (31) and Jaguars (32) — all in the first five games. The defense has a chance to establish itself early and hit that top-10 standing that has been so crucial in Smith's tenure.

Big boy offense may be a fevered football fantasy, but it has always been defense that wins in Chicago.

Special contributor Mike Mulligan co-hosts "The Mully and Hanley Show" from 5 to 9 a.m. weekdays on WSCR-AM 670.